Steel construction sector remembers Joe Locke

Former British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) President Joe Locke has died at the age of 84.

He was president between 1988 and 1990 and was instrumental in the association’s purchase of its own Whitehall offices.

During his longstanding career within the constructional steelwork industry, Mr Locke was awarded several accolades, including an MBE in 1990 for his contributions to the sector. He was also elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996 and in 2003 he was presented with the European Medal of the European Convention for Constructional Steel (ECCS) for services to European steelwork.

Born in Bolton, Mr Locke joined locally-based Watson Steel (now part of Severfield) in 1955 as an apprentice, before transferring to the company’s Bristol office in 1961 where he was promoted to Chief Designer.

During the late 1960s, he had several years in academia, firstly at Bolton Institute of Higher Education as a lecturer. He later joined the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology as a research assistant, where he received his MSc on the topic of buckling of columns.

In 1970, he re-joined Watson Steel and was elected to the company’s board in 1977. In later years, Mr Locke came out of retirement and took up a position at William Hare, where he was responsible for the engineering aspects of the firm’s activities. At William Hare, he maintained his reputation for exciting and adventurous projects and after six years he retired once more.

Mr Locke will be sadly missed by his family, friends and all of his former colleagues.